Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c6.22

c6.22

The last phenomenon in the growth of a language which I shall notice is the gradual disappearance of words. As men advance in knowledge and civilisation new ideas and modes of thinking arise, and the old ones fall into disuse. And since words are the representatives of ideas, new words always come in, and the old go out. The changes that the Marâthî language, for instance, has undergone in this respect since the time of Jñânes’vara, or the Hindî since the time of Chanda, render the older books unintelligible to modern readers. There are also various other causes. Sometimes, when another language rises into importance on account of political circumstances, or when it is admired and esteemed by a nation, as Sanskrit is by Hindus, a great many words are borrowed from it, and necessarily the older ones go out to make room for them, or disappear because they are regarded as vulgar. The opening of an intercourse with a foreign nation brings about the same result. These causes account in a great measure for the fact that so many words in our languages have become obsolete. Jñânes'vara's Prâkṛit पसाय had to make room for the Sanskrit प्रसाद, गहिर for गंभीर and नाह for नाथ; and the word जमीन has well-nigh supplanted the old भुई, as हुकुम has done आज्ञा which itself must once have driven out such a word as आणा or आयस, the Prâkṛit forms of आज्ञा and आदेश.